


Nick

by AveryGray



Category: Sleepy Hollow (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-12
Updated: 2014-10-12
Packaged: 2018-02-20 21:19:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2443511
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AveryGray/pseuds/AveryGray
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Abbie and Nick end up at the bar again. This time without Crane. Post ep fic to the “Root of All Evil”.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Nick

The sense of déjà vu wasn’t lost on her. It was only few weeks earlier they had met under similar circumstances. Even at the same table.  

One dark-haired, handsome difference separated the nature of two meetings however. He was thankfully not going to be joining this time around. She hated lying to Crane about where she had to go, but she knew the fact that she was going to meet Nick would exacerbate his foul mood even more.

A few hours earlier, her and Crane were in the middle of another mundane night in the archives—nose deep into a set of 18th century texts about the apocalypse. They were getting nowhere and learning nothing that they didn’t already know. Crane was sulkier than normal tonight. The slight argument they were engaging in wasn’t helping.

“Crane. Listen—” she started hesitantly, “I think we’ve done all we can do for the day. It’s 8 o’clock on a Friday night and it’s been a long week. Do you think we can reconvene Monday with clearer heads?” she suggested to her partner.  

“Is this some kind of joke?” he asked incredulously. 

“Of course not” she responded surprised by his angry tone.

“How can I clear my head of the idea that the Horseman and my evil son are holding my wife captive?” he spoke in a louder than normal voice.

 _Can you be held captive by choice_ , she wanted to say. She was thankful for the ability to bite her tongue at this instance. She knew that he was taking his anger out on her but it did piss her off.

She has done nothing but help Crane when it came to wife even putting her own life in danger.

Despite it all, Abbie could never forget the hurt in his eyes when they left the cabin without Katrina a few weeks ago. She figured now was not the time to remind him of the fact that it was his wife who didn’t want to leave when she had the chance. That she was the reason he was currently hurting. She tried the high road.

“Look I know you are upset but—” she stopped abruptly. The noise emitting from her phone was such a welcome distraction. Abbie was surprised at the source of the text message.

**Nick: Meet me at our bar in an hour. I have some important information.**

Our bar. She couldn’t pretend she didn’t know exactly which bar he was talking about. Even though they had only been twice. Nick had proved himself very useful the last time even supplying Crane with identification. It was kind of sweet to be honest.

She was intrigued by his invitation. Her and Crane were getting nowhere and he was being rude as hell. She responded pretty quickly.

**Abbie: Ok. See you there.**

Crane observed his partner. She had stopped mid-sentence and was now wearing an interesting expression. Far different than the anger and exhaustion that were apparent on her flawless face. She suddenly looked relieved and less weary. Like she had drank one of her energy drinks. His anger was quickly replaced with curiosity.  _Who or what has made her feel like this?_  He wondered.

“I think I am going to call it a night. I need a long shower and a lot of sleep. Let’s just say we agree to disagree. Let me know if you find anything. Good night” she grabbed her things and exited before he had a chance to respond. She suddenly felt off leaving things that way between her and Crane.  _He’s a grown man. He’ll be fine_ , she told herself.

She had plenty of time to drive home and take a quick shower. Abbie put on her customary jeans and a blue slightly low cut tee shirt. She was surprised to find herself applying a little bit of lip gloss and eyeliner as well.  _It couldn’t hurt_  she thought.

Abbie arrived at the bar in a little under an hour from the time she left Crane. She backed her Jeep into a spot on the side of the bar. She knew it would be easier to pull out at night. After checking herself in the rear view mirror for a final time, she cut off the overhead light and made her way inside.  

The bar was packed. She unfortunately recognized a few of the patrons from some of the DUI’s she had processed. It was the weekend for most normal people. What a foreign concept to her.

Jesus. She couldn’t remember the last time she spent a Friday night out like other 20-something year olds. Her normal weekends were now spent scourging archives or chasing Headless horsemen with Crane.

Granted, there was always the chance that this meeting could bring about information that would have her doing that very thing.  

Once she turned the corner, he was easy to spot. He was facing away from the door unable to see her approaching. As she got closer, she could see that he had taken the liberty of ordering. Beer. Sam Adams. She couldn’t help chuckling to herself at Crane’s rant.

“You said you had some more information for me?” she asked the handsome blonde in lieu of a greeting.

He looked up and smiled a dazzling smile at her. He was surprised that she agreed to meet her there and he was even more pleased to see that she was without Crane.

“Where’s your shadow?” he responded ignoring her question.

She took a seat and immediately took a swig of the beer. It tasted amazing after the long week. She put the bottle down and offered a little smile towards Nick—-really taking a look at him for the first time.

 _God he’s handsome_  she thought. She was trying to remain composed and remember that this is supposed to be an informational meeting. Not matter how informal the setting was.

“Not here,” she answered exuding a sense of confidence.

If it was even possible, Nick’s smile grew larger. He wasn’t surprised in the least bit at her reply. He has always been drawn to alpha women. With every interaction they’ve had, it’s becoming more and more apparent to him that this tiny woman could slay dragons if she wanted to. Much like her sister. He was also glad at the conformation that the skinny, dark-haired nuisance wasn’t around tonight.

“So you said you had some more information?” she tried again. Nick was still smiling and shaking his head when he grabbed his beer and proceeded to finish the rest. In doing so, he broke the little staring contest they had been engaged in since she first sipped her beer.

“What’s the deal with you and him anyways?” he blurted out. He had to know. There was something there but he couldn’t understand. He knew he was pushing his luck by continuing to ignore her question. She was smart and would eventually figure out that he didn’t have any information. She removed her jacket and hung it over the back of the chair. Nick couldn’t help his wondering eyes from descending. She definitely took notice.

“Why are you holding out on me, Nick?” she called his bluff. She leaned forward like she was in interrogation. She wondered how bad the information was that he was going to tell her. She couldn’t really take much more bad news but if it was pertinent, she wanted to know.

“It’s ok. No matter how bad it is, I won’t arrest you or anything. You can tell me. We need all the help we can get in this thing,” she switched to cop mode. Nick’s avoidance of the topic suddenly had her on alert.

Nick cursed himself. His antics had brought out her defensive side. He had to rectify it before she became leery of him.  

“It’s nothing bad, Lieutenant,” she noticed his growing nervousness. He ran his hand through his supreme head of hair.

“Then why do you look so nervous now?” she questioned. “You were fine when I sat down”. Nick just stared at this woman. Complex and beautiful. She was reading him like a book.  _It would be hard to ever lie to her_  he thought.

“Ok. It’s nothing bad because it’s nothing at all,” he admitted. Relieved, he picked up her beer and finished it.

She gave him a perplexed look. Although, she was beginning to understand what was going on.  

“I wanted to see you” he added in earnest.

“You—uh—you did?” she asked knowing exactly where this was headed.  _How could she not have put it together_ she wondered? Men weren’t exactly the most difficult creatures to read with or without professional interrogation training. 

“Yes” he quickly answered. His confidence now back. He was staring at her again with that cocky smile plastered on his face.

Abbie couldn’t deny that there was something between them. An attraction for sure. Even if she hadn’t been with anyone since Luke, he would be extremely good-looking to her.  _Jesus it had been a while_ she thought. She spent her day surrounded by many handsome but unavailable men. She certainly wasn’t a nun. It  _was_  getting to be difficult.

“You’re trying to hook up with me?” she asked. To Nick, it came out as flirty rather than the genuine curiosity she was trying to convey.

He busted out haughty laugh at that one and she couldn’t help but laugh in response to the blonde.

“No! Well, yes but no” he replied leaving Abbie looking confused.

“I mean, you are gorgeous, Abbie. I would be lying if it’s not something I haven’t thought about. But you intrigue me. I didn’t bring you here to buy you a beer and go back to my place. I want to know more about you”

 “Que Sera, Sera, Miss Mills” he finished his spiel with a glint in his eyes.

This night was turning out completely different than what Abbie thought possible especially since just a few hours ago she was nose deep in a smelly ancient text.

“Be right back,” she said with a smile. She needed a moment to gather her thoughts around this. And she needed alcohol. Abbie could only pretend to play the flirty game with him for so long without reinforcements. Truth be told, she liked what she was hearing from Nick to the point that she wasn’t even mad that she had been brought here under false pretenses.

Nick took a deep breath when she got up.  _She didn’t grab her coat so I didn’t scare her into leaving_ he thought. He watched her intently, his eyes yet again descending. This time it was to her ass.  _Glorious_ he thought. He grudgingly focused his attention to where she was heading, the bar. He couldn’t hear over the noise but he figured she must have been ordering something when she leaned in close to the bartender. Even from afar he could see that the young bartender was flirting with her. Wide eyes. Leaning his ear next to her mouth to “hear the order”. Whispering back into her ear. Smiling. It didn’t necessarily bother Nick but it did remind him of a few answers he wanted from Abbie before the night was over.

Nick was still staring as she was heading back to the table. She had two mixed drinks in her hand from what he could tell.

“Here” she offered.

“What is it?” he fired back curiously.

“Just taste it” she said sitting in her seat across from him. “Tell me what you think” she insisted.

He did as he was told.  _Tom Collins_  he recognized immediately. He’s a collector by nature and has had his fair share of various mixed drinks.

“This is pretty good” he told Abbie truthfully. She smiled at his approval.

“So what is it?” he pretended to play dumb.

“I can tell you already know, Nick” she stated assuredly. He knew he had again underestimated this woman.

“You aren’t a very good liar by the way” she told him.

“Or maybe you are just good at spotting bullshit” he responded.

“Don’t ever forget that,” she was feeling flirtatious again and took a large sip of her drink.

“I certainly won’t, Miss Mills.” As he watched her lips wrap around the straw, he realized he was feeling the same way.

“So what is the deal with you and the Brit?” he tried to broach the subject again.

“It’s probably not what you think. He and I are partners you could say. He consults on cases with the department. He’s brilliant. I know he comes off a little pretentious but that’s just his way of relating to the world. He means no harm,” she found herself defending Crane.

“No. I get it. He’s just one of those really smart guys” he said but really he just thought he was kind of a douche. He continued, “When you say you guys are partners—is that like—I mean are you guys together or whatever?” he asked fearing the answer.

“He’s married” was her response.

Truthfully, Abbie didn’t not even understand what was going on between her and Crane. When she’s with him, they deal with whatever life threatening experience is being thrown at them first and foremost. Yes, they had developed a deep friendship and she’d be devastated if anything ever happened to him. When he retrieved her from purgatory, she had never felt such trust in anyone. Abbie had honestly never taken the time to examine the feelings she had for him because of the life and death craziness that was their intertwined lives.

Nick wanted to push. He knew that was an evasive answer. Crane may be married but he’s a smart man with eyes that gets to spend a lot of time around the beautiful lieutenant. Surely, there must be something there. Instead, he offered Abbie another huge smile and took another sip of his drink. 

“Good. So is there anyone else in your life?” he continued to prod.

“No” she said honestly. She can barely make time for herself.

“Good. I’m honestly surprised you don’t have a boyfriend.”

 _Wow_  Abbie thought. _He’s definitely someone what goes after what he wants. No wonder he collects rare articles for a living_. However, she was beyond ready to change the subject from her lack of a dating life.

“Correct me if I’m wrong but there is no Mrs. Hawley to speak of either. Is there?” she mused.

He already liked the way she and he could go back and forth.

“Yes. There is.” he answered her question with the same brevity she had used. The smile immediately left her face and Abbie dropped her gaze to her drink. She couldn’t believe this.  _He’s fucking married. How could I be so blind_  she thought? She glanced to his left hand perched on his drink and didn’t see a ring.  _Huh._  She dared to look towards his face and discovered that he was giggling. Yes, giggling.

“Something funny?” she asked really starting to sound pissed.

“Yes. You. You look jealous of that thought” he teased. Now, Abbie was pissed.

“Yeah. So jealous. Clearly, you and your wife have the best marriage in the world if you are trying to pick up women in bars and taking off your ring to do so” she sarcastically responded to his teasing.

“Wow, Lieutenant. You wound me,” he faked hurt. “I think your bullshit meter is on the fritz. The only Mrs. Hawley in my life is my mother. She would be happy to know that you’d give her son hell for trying to cheat though.” Nick smiled. Realization clicked for Abbie.

“You, Jackass.” she chuckled not being able to be mad at Nick’s mischievousness. 

“I blame the bartender. He didn’t think I noticed the extra gin he put in this drink,” she said before slurping down the remnants of her Tom Collins. It was delicious.

“Uh huh. Excuses, excuses” he continued to tease her with a smug smile plastered on his face. He liked that she wasn’t the kind of woman to get involved with someone who was committed to someone else.

She was really liking the little game they were playing tonight. She was having a great time with Nick. He was a quite beautiful distraction from the doom and gloom of the last 6 months.

“Speaking of, would you like another drink, Miss Mills?” he asked courteously.

“Yeah, Nick. That would be great” she responded. Nick quickly got up and went to the bar. Abbie took the time to check her phone. No messages, text or otherwise. She wasn’t expecting a message from Crane but it would be nice to hear that he was ok. She’ll call later she decided. She’s sure he’d still be up late into the night searching for whatever scrap of a clue he could find.

Abbie didn’t even realize that Nick had returned. He was looking at her curiously as he sat down and placed her drinking in front of her.

“Everything ok?” he asked.

“Yes. Thanks for the drink, Hawley”

Nick was surprised at the use of his last name considering their growing familiarity with each other but responded in kind, “You’re welcome”.

Abbie sipped her drink and broke the ice again.

“So I have a question for you. How do you and my sister know each other?” she asked.

Ahhh. Nick realized why her formal tone had returned. Him and Jenny.

“What has she told you?” he evaded by answering a question with a question.

“That you guys were old friends. Obviously there is more to the story”

Abbie was so intuitive. Truthfully, he and Jenny were old friends in the crudest sense of the word. They had a sexual history. He became enamored with Jenny very early on and all she wanted from him was a good lay. It kind of stung for Nick but he understood that Jenny had a complicated past. If that was all he could offer, he wasn’t willing or strong enough to say no for fear of complete rejection. So they slept together for about a year on and off. They had only spoken to each other the last few years and the first time he saw her was in the woods when he retrieved the elusive coin. He didn’t know how to explain it to Abbie though. He didn’t want it to seem like he was trying to sleep with as many Mills sisters as possible. He decided to go with the truth.

After a few moments of silence, he responded, “There  _is_  more to the story. Your sister and I…used to sleep together. I wanted more and she didn’t. I haven’t seen her for years until a few weeks ago in the woods. She not “the one that got away” though. I’m not using you to get to her or anything like that,” he hesitated but continued, “I’m not trying to sleep with as many Mills sisters as possible either” he smiled, wide eyed. Abbie half-snorted, half-laughed at that.

“Is it too weird?” he probed. He’d hate if his relationship with Jenny was a deal breaker but he’d understand.

“Yes” she answered honestly. “It’s kind of a weird concept. I can’t imagine sleeping with two brothers under any circumstances”. As soon as it left her mouth, she immediately wishes she could take it back. 

Nick looked surprisingly hurt. Although, he noticed that she said sleeping with two as if it was a forgone conclusion that they would be sleeping together.

Abbie figured that “friend” was a euphemism for hook up as soon as Jenny said the word. She does believe that Nick isn’t harboring some weird sister fetish but it is something that is going to take time to get past. She now knows that Nick can’t just be somebody to hook up with and that news frightens her.  _Is she ready for dating and then a relationship? With him?_ _Is that even possible with the impending apocalypse, hers and Crane’s family drama, and her possible growing relationship with Crane?_  She wonders. The once playful and fun evening was now marred with a sense of awkwardness.

 _Time to loosen it back up again_  she thought. She picked up her drink, turned up the glass and chugged the remaining contents. Nick mirrors her action. He just wants the once playful energy back. He chances a smile in her direction and she responds with a smile of her own.  _Whatever will be, will be._ He recalls his words to her earlier.

After a few moments, she decides to break the ice, “I like to think Tom Collins is black; so he could never have been mistaken for Paul Revere.”

It was just what Nick needed. He busted out into one of his big laughs and seemingly all was right with the two yet again.

The rest of the evening was spent sharing tales back and forth with more than enough Tom Collins. He was like the third wheel on what turned out to be a de facto date. Abbie became extremely tipsy at one point and the flirtatiousness was back with a vengeance. She and Nick’s conversation went to from PG rated stories to R rated fantasies very quickly. Mostly Nick’s fantasies. He’s gathered a lot of information in his life she’d realized.

After Abbie accidently told of a dream involving her, Crane, and the table in the Sleepy Hollow PD interrogation room she realized it was time to go and she might never be able to look at Nick again. He just laughed and joked about getting arrested so that “Sleepy Hollow’s finest” could handle his interrogation.

Abbie definitely missed being flirted with. Her and Nick were heading for the point of no return if she didn’t leave soon enough. She asked Nick to call her a cab because her phone had gone dead at some point in the night.

“I can take you home” he offered. He may be bigger but he had had just as much to drink if not more she remembered.

“You shouldn’t be driving either” she responded in her most drunk stern voice.

“Yes, Lieutenant,” he said in the tone of a boy who had just gotten scolded by his teacher.

 After a quick conversation on the phone, he told her the cab would be there in 15 minutes. He ended up paying the tab they had racked up. Abbie thanked him profusely for that and shocked Nick by saying “next time, drinks are on me”.

Next time. He was elated.

Abbie grabbed her jacket and told Nick she had to stop at the restroom. Nick did the same and afterwards, they both felt relieved after a night of drinking. They walked outside and Nick put an arm around Abbie.

She was glad she parked around the side. She knew her Jeep would be fine for the night and she could get it in the morning.

“It’s freezing out here” he stated with a smile. She looked up at him and returned with a smile of her own. She wrapped her arm around his waist and leaned into him for a few minutes.

 _This is nice_  she thought.

When the cab arrived, Nick wrapped his other arm around her and they hugged for a few seconds. He bent down, placed a sweet lingering kiss on her cheek and escorted her to the cab.

Abbie wasn’t expecting Nick to be as much of a gentleman as he was.

“I had a great time tonight, Nick” she admitted.

“I did too” he responded quickly.

“Text me when you get home” he said as he was closing her door.

“Good night” she said through the lowered window. He waved his goodbye, she rolled up the window, and told the cabbie her address.

The long week, the drinks, and ups and downs she faced had her extremely worn down. She brushed her teeth and crawled into bed almost as soon as she got home. She plugged in her dead phone and it charged to life a few minutes later with a quirky little noise. She was almost asleep when she remembered she hadn’t texted Nick.

She reached for her phone was surprised to see that she had already had an unread text message and was even more surprised to see who it was from.

**Crane: Lieutenant, accept my deepest apologies for my contempt earlier this night. You are but a treasure in my dark world and your advice is invaluable to me. I will see you on Monday. Rest well.**

_God he has a way with words_  she thought. He was a professor indeed. Abbie was glad all would be well with Crane. They will have their tense moments but she had no doubt that they will always be there for each other.

However, it was a much lighter-haired man that had her smiling as she finally succumbed to sleep; not realizing she was touching the same spot on her cheek that his lips had been just an hour ago.  

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoy. This is my first fan fic ever. Let me know what you think!


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